What If?
by Miss Lucia
Summary: AU: What if Dumbledore had already destroyed the Horcruxes? What if Voldemort DID really die the night he tried to kill Harry? What would their world be like now? Based on a story that I wrote and deleted on another account, rewritten and totally new. R&R :
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nor am I making any money from this story. All the rights and such go to the lovely JK Rowling.

* * *

"No one should have to live like this, James," Lily Potter said, "Especially not a child."

"I know," James responded, "But what can we do? If we leave the house, if we give up our position then he could die, and that is surely a worse way to live."

"You're right, I just want him to be able to live. Not in hiding, not friendless, but truly live. Thrive. He won't get that here. Hell, we aren't getting that here. I don't know how much longer I can take it, being out of touch with the world, not knowing where Voldemort is. We went from being highly respected aurors to being sitting ducks! I'm losing my mind James. I don't know how much longer I can take it."

James brought his fire-haired wife into his arms, wiped the tears from her eyes, and she curled into him. "Shhh, Lily. I know what you're going through, I'm going through the same thing. But we must do this, we must keep ourselves together and safe for Harry. This is the only way to keep him safe, we cannot forget that."

At that moment, a small child's cry could be heard coming from the upstairs nursery. "I'll get him, Lily." After a tender kiss was placed on his wife's tear-glossed lips, he bounded upstairs to retrieve his son from his crib.

"Hello, Harry," said James softly.

"Dada," Harry replied, quieting now that someone was there.

James looked at his son with eyes fill with love and sorrow. 'Why can't Voldemort just stay out of his life?' he pondered. 'Why can't he just bloody leave him alone? He picked up small Harry and got him ready for the day.

* * *

As nightfall fell upon Godric's Hollow, the Potter's put Harry in his crib. Lily and James couldn't help but feel as though something was going to happen. But, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't put their finger on what. As they walked down the steps toward the foyer from the upstairs nursery, they held their wands close, and each other closer. They sat on the plush leather couch in the sitting room, Lily reading a book, and James reading a newspaper, trying to ignore their mutual instinctual discomfort.

* * *

Outside the house, organized chaos reigned. Children in costumes, dressed as witches and ghosts, mummies and zombies, faeries and princesses, pranced from house to house with orange plastic pumpkins hanging from their wrists. In the midst stood a man with the best costume of all: flowing, ethereal black robes covered a slim figure; a mask, pasty white. It gave the man slits for nostrils, red eyes and cat-like pupils. His costume made him look as though a human body morphed with a skeleton, something Muggles only dreamed of seeing in movies. Therefore, he had the most frightening and enviable costume in all of Godric's Hollow. What would have made it all the more terrifying would be if they knew that his costume wasn't a costume, but his true form. A form made of the most heinous of Dark Magic: the splitting of a soul, murder, Horcruxes. Oh, the terror they would feel if they knew that their children were frolicking around a cold-blooded murderer, the self-named "Master of Death."

And furthermore, the terror he would feel if he knew that his mastering of Death had been mastered. Would he be walking through Godric's Hollow if he knew? But that is neither here nor there. Walking toward the house gives him a sort of high. Just the knowledge that blood will be spilt gives him a pleasure like nothing else ever would. For the death of a child, for him, is the most sacred; it is this death that will make him the true master.

Walking up to the gate of the Potter's home and being able to pass through was something he had long hoped of doing. He had tortured so many in his rage and insistance in finding their home. The curved walkway was lined with multi-colored and dead leaves from the empty tree branches above him, through which he could see a perfectly full moon. Two steps in front of the house led him onto the porch, where two quaint rocking chairs sat to the right of him. He unlocked the front door with his wand, opened the door and stepped through the door and into the foyer.

Two rooms on either side of him stood, both had mahogany double door entries. On the right, the two were closed tightly. On the left, however, one was closed while the other remained cracked open and revealed flickering lights from within and the sounds of turning pages. In front of him was a large marble staircase which led grandly up until the upper level of the house, where you had the choice to go forward or to turn left or right to other rooms in the house. On either side of the bottom of the staircase were two short hallways that led to two mahogany doors, both closed tightly.

At the bottom of the staircase was a large black dog that stared at the figure inquisitively before giving two short barks.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nor am I making any money from this story. All the rights and such go to the lovely JK Rowling.

* * *

From the sturdy mahogany doors to the left of him came Lily and James Potter, wands out, sparks flying. The man drew his wand quickly and blocked the hexes coming from the two while throwing his own toward them.

"Two against one, now?" the man taunted. "That's not a fair game. Do you really need a woman to help you, James? Are you not man enough to face me alone?" A sneer lay painted on his mouth, turning his skeletal face upside down.

"He's man enough to face ten of you, but I want to help bring you down!" screamed Lily, fighting as fiercely as James.

"I think I've had enough of this foolishness," the figure said as calmly as he would if he were asking for a cup of tea at the local bakery. He pointed his wand at Lily and said," Avada Kedavra."

James dove in front of Lily, taking the spell meant for her. However, as he fell, he took her with him and her head took the brunt of the fall with a loud crack. The man stood beside the two tangled bodies and uncaringly kicked the man from on top of the woman. He looked at her: eyes shut, mouth slack, and her head cracked, the blood spilled forming a halo around her head. As he lifted his wand to shoot another Killing Curse at her to make sure the deed was done, he heard a child's cry from above. Looking around, he found no sign of the dog that alerted the Potter's to his presence, and hastened up the stairs in search of the child the cry belonged to.

Forward, down the hall at the top of the stairs he ran, until he stopped at the slightly opened door at the end. Kicking it open, he came face to face with Sirius Black who was shielding the boy from his view.

"Sirius Black. How noble of you to shield a worthless child."

"Shut. Your. Filthy. Mouth. You will never speak of my godson," replied Sirius, acidicly.

"Ooh. Have I hit a nerve? Who would've thought it would have been that simple? Although, you Gryffindors have always been too easy to read, and far too noble for your own good. Such a waste it would be to spill such fine pure blood. I hate to do it. So much potential you had, Sirius. Such a fine family you come from. You would have been welcomed into the ranks of my followers, like your cousin Bellatrix. I suppose, though, potential remains. So I shall do something I normally do not, and you will see firsthand what a merciful Lord I can be. I give you, now, one chance. Give me the boy, and I give you my guarantee that you will walk out of this house unharmed and be welcomed into the ranks of my Death Eaters."

"While your merciful tendencies have been plain to see, my Lord," said Sirius sarcastically, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline. You see, I happen to fancy myself an attractive man, and I just don't think that 'spineless coward' is high up on the lists of women as a desirable attribute."

The man's face of false hopefulness turned to one of abject rage.

"You dare defy me? Your rightful Lord? Avada Kedavra-"

"Expelliarmus!"

The dark figure's face was horror-filled as his curse turned toward him with the sparks of Sirius's defensive spell. He hit the wall behind his back with a thump and slid limply to the floor beneath him, empty red eyes staring unblinkingly at the window on the other side of the room, through which a perfectly full moon could be seen.


End file.
